Sivilized
by momewrathsway
Summary: And you thought liveing on a deserted island was bad....
1. Chapter 1

Charlie slouched in a chair at the air port with one arm slumped over his abdomen, the other draped across his guitar, witch rested in the seat beside him. He kept his feet propped up on a chair in front of him with his head tilted up towards the ceiling, eyes protected from the florescent lights by dark, tinted shades. Not that it mattered much, since they were closed.

Claire stopped as she walked by to look him over. An amused grin crossed her face as she watched him, sleeping soundly in the heart of a noisy, crowded air port.

Her stare was broken by a sudden flash of light near her head, that scared poor Aaron into tears. She first looked to him, laying his head on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, then to the other side of her shoulder where the camera flash came from, but by then the photographer was gone.

It wasn't really a surprise. This would be all over the news. Reporters and photographers were everywhere. She couldn't wait to see what news paper or show would hold the picture of the _"sleepy survivor."_

Claire put her bag down and knelt beside Charlie, placing a curious, though still teary-eyed, Aaron on his lap. Charlie awoke as soon as the toddler was on him in a stir of confusion. Claire just laughed.

"Hey turniphead, what's wrong?" He questioned, using his thumb to wipe the tear of the baby's cheek. Since Aaron was incapable of answering, he gathered the child into his arms and held his head to his chest, looking to his mother for a response.

"Its noting. A camera flash scared him" Claire explained with a smile, slightly jealous of the fact that with in seconds of being held by Charlie, Aaron was back to being his pleasant little self.

"Aw, poor thing. All this new technology must be pretty intimidating." Charlie noted, looking down at the child who was currently holding a clump of his shirt in a tiny fist and trying to eat it. Claire nodded in agreement. After a moment, she stood, and turned to pick up her bag.

"So, are you getting ready to leave?" Charlie questioned, suddenly looking disappointed. "Yeah. I've got to meet my Mom outside soon" She explained with a sigh.

"Do you know where your staying?" He asked, curiously, taking his feet off the chair so he could sit up straight.

"Mh,hm." She nodded, hands latched together uncomfortably. The poor boy was not doing a very good job at hiding his disappointment. After a moment of silence, she got the message.

"Oh! do you want the number?" She questioned, feeling dumb for not asking that initially. "Yeah" Charlie replied, sounding fairly relieved. Claire gave him an embarrassed smile and dug into her bag for a piece of paper and a pin.

She jotted her phone number out on the pack of an envelop and handed it to him. Charlie flashed her a smile as he took and slipped in into the pocket of his hoodie.

There was a sudden distraction off in the distance, where the media had gathered around. At first, the couldn't see much. Soon, the crowd parted slightly, and revlead Jack, who was down on one knee, holding Kates hand.

Both looked like they were about to cry. After a few romantic words, Jack rose to his feet, only to be tackled by an over joyed kate. With in seconds a couple was surounded by a hundred flashing camera's.

"Ok, well I guess I better go" Claire explained, once she had zipped up her bag. She leaned down and picked up Aaron, taking a moment to get him adjusted. Charlie stood up. "I guess I'll talk to you later" He replied with a slight smile, hands nervously shoved in his pockets.

Claire leaned forward and wrapped her free arm around his neck in pathetic attempt at a hug, but made up for it with a kiss on the cheek. Before Charlie could recover from the little head rush he got from it, Claire hand already walked away.

He turned and watched her until she disappeared through the crowd before grabbing his bag and his guitar and heading off to catch a cab.


	2. Chapter 2

Empress Petra: lol. I knew I was gonna get an reply with someone saying that. Although I am known for my horible spelling, the miss spelling of civilized was done one purpose. Siville is the neighborhood I live in, witch is also the name of the neigborhood that Claire and a few other of the surviveres will be liveing in during the story. so "sivilized" is meant as a pun. Hopefully that explaines it.

lostlorenzo: Hey, good to hear from you again! And i'm glad you like the chapter so far. It is kind of your same concept. Charlie and Claire don't exactly split up, but alot dose go wrong once they are back on land. And there is alot of fighting. So it should be interesting. Oh, and since you asked, as much as i would like to contenuie baby boom...i'm not going to.

Two weeks later...

"Claire!" Abby called from the bottom of the stares in an obnoxtiously loud tone. Claire had curently been brushing her teeth in the upstairs bath room and was so startled by the sudden call that she kocked over the cup of tooth brushes with her elbow.

"In a minute!" She called back through a mouth full of tooth paste as she knelt down to pick up the cup and scartard brushes. Once she got the cup back in place, she leaned over the sink, spit, whipe her mouth and headed downstairs.

She reached the bottom of the steps and saw her mother standing at the front door. "Its for you" She explained simply as soon as she was aware of Claire's pressence and walked away from the door. Confused, Claire walked to the door and pulled it open to see Charlie standing on the other side of the storm door with a cheeky grin across his face.

"Charlie!" She exclaimed with a megga-watt grin, quickly pulling the storm door open so that she could give him the great big hug that she wanted to give him when they said good bye at the airport. The impact of her hug knocked him backwards at first, but he quickly recovered and threw his arms around her waiste.

They embraced for a long time before parting, both grinning like maniacs. Claire just stared at him for a moment, seeing how much he'd changed in the past two weeks, as nuts as that sounds.

"Come in" She insisted, grabing his hand and pulling him inside. Claire lead him into the kitchen, where her moom was busy feeding Aaron baby food with a little spoon. "Mom, this is Charlie" Claire explained, laying her hand on his shoulder. "I know dear, he told me at the door" Abby explained sarcasticly, glanceing over her shoulder momentarily.

Aarons face lit up at the sight of Charlie, and he quickly began trying to climb out of his chair in order to reach him. Charlie simply scruffed the little blode fluff on the top of the childs head, and Aaron was content.

"Here, Claire. Since you have company, why don't you feed him so I can go and start fixing up your room" Ms. Littleton offered, handing Claire the little silver spoon. "Sure, mum" Claire replied, and kelt down in front of Aaron so she could start feeding him.

"He looks bigger" Charlie noted, smiling down at Aaron who's cheeks were curently filled with baby food. "I know. I'm a little worried though. He refuses to eat anything except bananas" Claire explained in amusement. Charlie laughed. "I guess he's not very open to new things" he noted sarcasticly.

"I guess not" Claire replied, and tried once again to get the spoon into his mouth. No use. Aaron had his lips sealed shut, a clear statement that this little man was full. "All done" Claire anounced, and pushed herself to her feet. "Oh god, I'm starting to sound like my mum" She the noted a moment later, a look of disgust across her face. Charlie couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, haveing children can do that to a girl" Charlie noted playfully. Claire smiled and lifted Aaron out of his high Chaire, then moved to a seat and set him on her lap. For a moment, there was silence between them. Claire took the time to look him over once again.

He hadn't changed much. He still had the same messy blonde hair, the same short, thin form. His cloths even looked the same. But something, something was difforent. After a moment, Claire realized she'd been stareing at him and decided to strike a conversation.

"So, where have you been for the last two weeks?" Claire questioned, curiously. "I've been staying with my brother. His phones disconected, thats why I haven't called." Charlie explained, looking a little guilty. "Oh, don't worry about that. I've been so bussy with Aaron and my mother that I probebly wouldn't have had time to talk. Besdies, your much more amuseing in person" Claire confirmed with a reasureing smile.

"But you've never heard me on the phone, so how do you know?" Charlie asked, playfully. Claire couldn't help but laugh. "You have a point." she agreed with a smile, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear. Once again, she let her eyes dart to look at him. _What is it? whats difforent? _She wondered, squinting at him curiously.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Charlie questioned, feeling a little self conchious at her contenuous stare. "Oh, sorry. I just-you look...difforent" Claire explained, feeling a little embarrased. "I do?" Charlie questioned, looking puzzled. "Yeah. I can't put my finger on it. But theres something. Something difforent" She confirmed, sounding quite bewildered herself.

"...I took a shower" Charlie offered, thinking maybe _clean_ was the new quality she wasn't used to. Claire broke into laughter. "Or maybe I'm just nuts" Claire replied in amusement, shifting Aaron on her lap.

"Could be" Charlie replied playfully. After a good laugh the two sat in silence for a long while. Just happy to be together once again.

sorry about the spelling you guys, but i wanted to get this up incase i have school tommarow and i'm waaaay to tired to spell check now. if anyone gets board and has the time on their hands to do it for me, since you all probly do it mentaly while reading any ways, feel free to email it to me at writethatdown257 at aol dot com. If not, i'll just have to do it my self.


	3. Chapter 3

Two days later...

"So, have you heard from any one?" Claire questioned, idly twirling the straw in her glass of lemonade. "Yes, I spoke to Jack a few days ago" Sun explained with a nod. "Him and Kate are getting married in two weeks. We're all invited" She continued with a smile. "Thank God. Its about time those two hooked up" Claire noted sarcastically.

"Yeah. I could have sworn she'd go with Sawyer, though" Sun mused. "Her loss" Claire replied with a shrug, and took a sip from her glass. The two laughed in amusement. "So, who have you heard from since we got back?" Sun questioned curiously.

"Charlie stopped by a few days ago" Claire explained simply, trying to act as if it were nothing special. "Oh, what a surprise" Sun mumbled sarcastically. "Well, I was surprised" Claire noted, in contradiction.

"Why?" Sun questioned, raising an eye brow at her as if she were insane. "Because...sure, we were friends on the island but were back in the real world now. Suddenly a single mother doesn't sound so flattering" Claire explained simply.

"Oh, come on. You know Charlie loves Aaron almost as much as he loves you" Sun insisted teasingly. "Oh please" Claire scoffed, rolling her eyes. Sun just laughed. "Your hopeless" Sun confirmed teasingly, and took a sip of her drink. Claire shook her head and laughed.

The front door opened and closed, and Claire's mother announced her entrance. "Hi mum" Claire called, glancing over her shoulder as Abby walked in, carrying a bag of groceries. "Hi, girls. What are you up to?" Abby questioned curiously, setting the bag on the counter.

"Just talking" Claire explained simply. "Trying to convince your daughter he's in love" Sun added playfully. "Sun!" Claire exclaimed and gave her a scolding smack on the arm. "In love? With who?" Ms. Littleton questioned, eyeing the two curiously. "Charlie" Sun explained, mimicking the way Claire pronounced his name. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Ohhh, so that's why he came to see you" Abby noted, playfully. "No. We're just friends" Claire confirmed, shooting Sun an insisting look. Abby and Sun exchanged a glance, giggled and shook their heads. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't care to know that I bumped into your_ friend_ today, would you?" Abby questioned sarcastically as he began to unload her grocery bag. "You saw Charlie?" Claire questioned, brightening up quickly. Sun snickered to herself and Claire shoot her a look, then turned back to her mother.

"Mh,hm" Ms. Littleton replied casually, amused at the sudden desperation in her daughter's voice. "Where?" Claire questioned, raising a confused eye brow. "Outside the grocery store. He was talking to some guy" Abby explained as she carried an arm full of groceries over to the fridge. Claire hopped up to help her.

"Did you talk to him?" Claire asked curiously, trying to make it sound like she didn't care. "Of course not. I wouldn't want to embarrass you or anything" her mother replied sarcastically. Claire smiled in response. "Besides, he seemed pretty busy" Abby added after a moment, closing the fridge once again.

"How so?" Claire questioned with a look of confusion, once again. "I think him and his friend were having an argument" Ms. Littleton explained, simply. "Oh..." Claire nodded. "Its was probably his brother, then" She concluded with a shrug, and put the rest of the groceries in a cabinet near by.

Sun and her Mom shoot her a curious look. "What? So I know he has a brother. Dose that make me some kind of stalker now?" Claire questioned in frustration. Sun and Abby just laughed. Aaron could be heard fussing in the other room. "You guys are unbelievable" Claire confirmed in annoyance, and marched out of the kitchen to attend to her sun. The two simply burst out into laughter once again.


	4. Chapter 4

Same day...

It was mid afternoon, way to bright out for Charlie's taste, but alas, he had things to do. So he pulled on his sun glasses and his hoodie and wondered over to the board walk to meet up with an old friend.

As usually, there Tommy was at the corner of the little grocery store that sat on the board walk, hands in his pocket, greasy black hair smeared to his forehead, looking miserable as usual. Charlie watched him for a moment, trying to make himself turn back. He wanted to think he had something to live for, a reason to be good. On the island, that was Claire.

But he didn't have Claire any more, or Aaron. They had a life of their own. A nice little house in the suburbs that didn't hold much from for a washed out junkie. He took a deep breath, and headed over to the corner.

At first, Tommy didn't take much notice to him. The bloke was to burnt out to realize who he was speaking to. His eyes were swollen and red. Beads of sweat streamed down his face. He looked terrible.

"Charlie?" he questioned after a long pause, his voice hoarse and raw. "In the flesh" Charlie replied, forcing a smile. "Hey man! I thought you were dead!" Tommy exclaimed, giving him a great big hug. "Fraid not" Charlie replied sarcastically, not doing much effort to return the gesture.

"Wow. A whole year on an island, huh? You must be in hell right now." Tommy noted in amusement. "Is it that obvious?" Charlie questioned sarcastically. Tommy gave a hoarse laugh at the remark, witch transformed int a cough. "We'll don't worry. I've got you covered" He assured, once the fit subsided. He placed his arm around Charlie's shoulder and began leading him behind the little grocery shop.

"Your my savior" Charlie noted sarcastically. "You know it" Tommy replied, laughing again. They stopped at the end of the ally where a couple boxes laid about. "So, where are you staying?" Tommy asked curiously as he knelt down and opened up one of the boxes.

"Um...no where" Charlie answered bluntly, looking around in paranoia. "No where? What do you mean nowhere?" Tommy asked, shooting him a curious glance. "I'm officially homeless" Charlie explained with a sarcastic grin. Tommy just laughed. Charlie frowned, not sure why his friend seemed so amused.

"Man, you can't get a break can you?" Tommy asked sarcastically, laughing once again. "Guess not" Charlie shrugged, still not seeing the hummer in his situation. "Well, like I said. I've got you covered" Tommy confirmed, rising to his feet and placing a little bag in Charlie's hand. Charlie looked down at the little plastic baggy, mesmerized.

"This should tide you over for a bit. You can swing by my place, get yourself washed up, you and I can head to the pub, have a couple drinks, catch up. Then we'll find you some nice bird to shack up with for the night. How's that sound?" Tommy purposed, laying a hand on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie hand been starring at the bag the whole time. Finally, he broke out of his daze and looked up.

He looked around again, still paranoid. After all, they were in a pretty public place. He spotted someone at the end of the ally, and panicked for a moment. Then he realized it was just a women, probably looking for groceries, who just happened to glance over at them as she walked bye. He took a deep breath and turned back to Tommy, trying to remember what he had just said.

"Oh, uh..I don't know if that's a good idea" Charlie explained, sounding a little unsure. "What do you mean?" Tommy questioned, giving him a confused look. Charlie didn't know what to say. "I don't know. I just, I'm not in the mood" he explained with a shrug. "Not in the mood for what? Drinks? Showers?" Tommy questioned teasingly.

"No, sex" Charlie confirmed in an annoyed whisper. Tommy shoot him a confused look. "Not in the mood for sex? Did you hit your head or something?" Tommy asked, eyeing him in concern. "No, I just...look, can't I just crash at your place for the night?" Charlie questioned, hopefully.

"No" Tommy scoffed in reply. Charlie looked confused. "Look man, I want to help you out but I can' just take care of you. If you want to get back on your feet you have to do it on your own" Tommy explained simply. "Help me? Since when is pumping someone full of drugs and bear and sending them off to bed with a stranger considered help?" Charlie questioned in frustration.

"Hey, no ones forcing you to take the shit! You came to me. If you don't want it, fine. But don't come down here giving me your redemption bull shit." Tommy exclaimed in annoyance, and snatched the bag out of Charlie's hand. He shoved it into his pocket and began to walk off back to his post.

Charlie waited for a moment, considering. "Wait-" He called with a sigh. Tommy stopped and turned around. "I'm sorry, all right? I'm just..moody" Charlie explained, apologetically. "Your always moody" Tommy reminded him sarcastically. "Give me a break, I'm homeless. I haven't bathed in forever, I'll be surprised if I can even get a women" Charlie explained sarcastically.

"Don't worry. We'll get you cleaned up. Trust me, the girls will be all over you" Tommy assured, patting him on the back. Charlie smiled. "I hope your right" He muttered in amusement. Tommy smiled. "When have I ever been wrong?"

end

for now

So, now we get to hear what's been going with Charlie. Makes things a lot more interesting, don't you think? Ps, sorry about the crappy spelling! I'm being realy lazy with this one.


	5. Chapter 5

LunaAqua: Unfortunately, something happened with my old account and I can no longer access any of my old storied, including baby boom, so I won't be able to continue it, although I would have liked to. But, I have a few new stories in the works and this one to work on for now, so you should be seeing lots of updates very soon. Thanks for the review, and I hope to hear more from you soon.

Lostlorenzo: well hello, biggest whore ever. lol. Nice to hear from you, its been a while. I can't talk, I've been extremely busy. I was a little worried that you'd dropped off the face of the planet, but your back now so its all good. There's a Charlie episode coming up soon, I think its supposed to be the third after the hiatus is over, and the next one has a lot of him in it. I'm very excited. But any way, back to the story. I know, Charlie's life is pretty sad, but as with all my stories, Claire always makes everything better. Well, glad your still alive! Hope to hear more from you soon.

Three weeks later...

"Claire!" Abby called from downstairs. Claire moaned in protest, not wanting to wake up. "What?" She called in a sleepy voice, barely lifting her head from the pillow. "You have company" Abby explained simply. This, got Claire up. Rather she would admit it or not, she had been waiting to hear from Charlie. After he showed up that day, she'd assumed they'd still be in contact. But she hadn't heard from him since and the idea was beginning to worry her.

She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and ran down stairs, slightly disappointed at first when she saw Sun in the door way. But her expression brightened up a bit when she recognized the friendly face standing next to her.

"Kate!" Claire exclaimed in surprise, a smile across her face. The two shared a quick hug. It took Claire a moment to realize that there was yet another visitor standing behind her. "Hey Jack" She greeted, unable to give him a proper hello in Kate's death lock of a hug. "Hi Claire" Jack replied, seeming a little uncomfortable.

"Wow. What are you guys doing here?" Claire asked, once Kate decided to release her. "Well, we ran into Sun at the office and decided we'd stop by and give you the invitations our selves" Kate explained with a grin. "Invitations to what?" Claire asked curiously, chewing on her lower lip.  
"To our wedding" Kate answered with a grin as she held out the little white envelope. By the expression on her face, Claire could tell that the women would never get tired of saying it. "Oh!" Claire exclaimed, feeling stupid for not remembering. She took the envelope and smiled awkwardly.

"When is it?" She asked, curiously looking over the invitation. "Christmas" Kate beamed, glancing up at Jack who had his hand on her shoulder. "Aw, how romantic" Claire noted, teasingly. The couple blushed.

"Well, we thought it would be a nice way to get everyone back together" Jack noted, trying to defend the sappiness of having your wedding on a holiday "Oh, right. That makes sense.." Claire nodded in agreement. For a moment it was awkwardly silent. "Wait, you said you saw Sun at the office?" Claire's mind wondered back to the previous statement.

"Yes, I'm running my own office now" Jack explained. "I'm a secretary" Kate added proudly. Claire smiled. "Why were you at the doctors office?" She then questioned, turning to sun curiously. Sun blushed as a big grin crossed her face.

"I'm pregnant" She explained, bubbling with excitement. Claire's jaw dropped. "Get out!" She exclaimed in the perfect essence of a teenage valley girl. Sun nodded in reply. Claire screamed in excitement and gave her a great big hug. For a moment, the girls all hugged and laughed while Jack supervised from a safe distance.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Abby questioned, walking out from the kitchen. "Sorry mum" Claire apologized, a little embarrassed by her previous out burst. She stood with her hands behind her back, much like a toddler would when being scolded, witch made her laugh even more. Apparently she wasn't the only one who found it amusing, because Kate and Sun soon joined in. Claire's mom stared in confusion.

"Could you explained?" She questioned, addressing Jack for assistance. "Sun's pregnant" Jack answered simply. "Ooooh." Abby nodded, understanding. "Congratulations" she added simply, and headed back into the kitchen.

"Well, the three of us and Jin are going out to celebrate, want to join?" Sun offered, hopefully. "Sure." Claire replied with a shrug. After all, she needed to get out of the house and take her mind off things. Besides, she wanted to catch up. Once she got her coat and kissed Aaron good bye, the group piled into Jacks nice little sports car and headed out.

The restaurant was quiet, all except their little party of five. Jin and Sun on the left, Jack and Kate on the right, and one single Claire stuck in the middle while the two happy couple's celebrated. What ever possessed her to think that this little outing would cheer her up and long been exercised, and now she sat quietly, thinking to herself, trying to at least appear pleasant. Not that anyone noticed...

The sudden sound of beeping from under the table stirred her out of her sulking. "That's my pager" Jack announced to the table, glancing down at the little black box attached to his belt. "By sweetie" Kate murmured with a slightly disappointed pout and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Bye" He replied, giving her a rather half-assed peck on the lips before climbing over her and running out the door.

Kate sighed and laid her head on her knuckles, resting her elbow on the table. He'd been gone for about two seconds and already she looked miserable. Claire had half a mind to slap her in the face. But, instead, she smiled and sat up straight, basking in the company of her miserable friend.

"Why couldn't he be a gynecologist? They never have emergencies" Kate muttered, bitterly. "There, there" Sun comforted teasingly, patting her on the arm. Kate gave her an offended look, but it melted into a smile with in seconds. Claire began to wonder if Kate was bipolar. Suddenly, a cell phone rang. Kate jumped at first, then, realizing it was her own, answered.

"Hello?" She greeted, a mild look of confusion across her face. As who ever was on the other side of the phone replied, her expression slowly shifted. "What's wrong, Kate?" Claire questioned, concerned by the look on her face. "Its Jack" she replied simply, still listening on the phone as she spoke. Claire and Sun exchanged a look.

"What's going on?" Sun questioned, knowing something had to be wrong. Kate waited until after she'd hung up the phone to reply. "There was an emergency at the hospital Jack used to work at, that's why they called him in" Kate explained, after a long pause.

"Ok..." Sun noted, not grasping the volume of the situation. Kate stared at her lap for a long while, as if in shock. Then, after wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, she grabbed her purse. "Its Sawyer" She finished simply, and slid out of the booth.

At the hospital...

"What happened to him?" Claire questioned, as Jack stepped out of the room where Sawyer was being held. Jack shut the door behind him and turned to face her.

"Sawyer was...attacked" Jack explained, sounding a little cautious. Claire's eyes widened. "Attacked? What do you mean?" Sun cut in, a similar look of shock across her face. "We're not exactly sure what happened. He's not well enough to speak" Jack continued, looking a little nervous.

The three stood in silence, not knowing what to think. "From his injuries, we can tell that he was beaten badly. He's bruised in many places. His hand was broken" Jack explained, finally snapping into his medical monotone and putting his emotions aside.

Claire covered her mouth, and Jin put his arms around Sun. No one could believe what they were hearing. "Is he going to be alirght?" Claire questioned, trying to stay calm. "Yes, he should have a full recovery. Kate has agreed to stay with him for the night. I think you guys should probably go home and get some rest" Jack suggested, sounding pretty exhausted himself.

Cliare nodded and walked to the bench to get her purse. As the three walked down the hall to the hospital exit, Claire couldn't help but feel uneasy. Something wasn't right. There was something Jack wasn't telling him. She'd just have to wait to find out what.


	6. Chapter 6

Summers Rage: I know, I feel so sorry for Charlie. But, I'm sure he'll find a way to win her back. You'll find a little bit more about what happend to Sawyer in this chapter, but not to much. I can't give it all away because that just wouldn't be fun :D

Cheife-marmoset: I'm glad you can stand my story! lol. You'll find out a little bit more about Sawyer in this chapter, that should answer at least some of your question. Thanks for the reveiew and hope to hear from you soon.

At the hospital...

"What happened to him?" Claire questioned, as Jack stepped out of the room where Sawyer was being held. Jack shut the door behind him and turned to face her.

"Sawyer was...attacked" Jack explained, sounding a little cautious. Claire's eyes widened. "Attacked? What do you mean?" Sun cut in, a similar look of shock across her face. "We're not exactly sure what happened. He's not well enough to speak" Jack continued, looking a little nervous.

The three stood in silence, not knowing what to think. "From his injuries, we can tell that he was beaten badly. He's bruised in many places. His hand was broken. And while unconchious, he was tattooed" Jack explained, finally snapping into his medical monotone and putting his emotions aside.

Claire covered her mouth, and Jin put his arms around Sun. No one could believe what they were hearing. "Is he going to be ok?" Claire questioned, trying to stay calm. "Yes, he should have a full recovery. Kate has agreed to stay with him for the night. I think you guys should probably go home and get some rest" Jack suggested, sounding pretty exhausted himself.

Cliare nodded and walked to the bench to get her purse. As the three walked down the hall to the hospital exit, Claire couldn't help but feel uneasy. Something wasn't right. There was something Jack wasn't telling him. She'd just have to wait to find out what.

hey guys, sorry this one was so short. The next one is a lot longer.


	7. Chapter 7

Lostlorenzo: Hey, whore, good to hear from you. I can't wait until the next episode! Charlie is gonna be shirtless, mmm...any way, back to the story. I've heard alot of people say they think Charlie was the one who attack Sawyer. Thats an interesting theory. You'll find out more about what happened to Sawyer soon. Although, an sos from Charlie to Claire would be pretty freaking hilarious. Oh, and about "definetly later" I may update one day, if I get really board, but I'm trying to focus on this story right now so probly not. Any way, I'm gonna shut up and reply to my other reveiw so I can get this baby posted. Hope to hear from you soon!

One week later...

It was bright out, very early. Charlie finished pulling his plain white T-shirt over his head and grabbed his coat off the bed post. Once he located his dusty pair of checkerboard vans and slipped them on, he carefully opened the door, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the women who's apartment he was sneaking out of was still asleep.

He lightly closed the door behind him and crept out into the living room, where he noticed the TV was on. She must have woken up sometime last night while he was asleep, he noted as he paused to stare at the screen. It had been a long time since he'd actually watched tv, the news especially.

He decided it wasn't worth the risk of her catching him before he left, and started to head for the front door when he heard a familiar name being mentioned by the news caster on screen. He stopped once again to listen.

"This was the third attack that has been placed on one of the survivors of Flight 815 in the past week. Police are working on investigations after Michael Dawson was found in his apartment this morning" The reporter explained, standing in front of the apartment she was speaking of.

In shock, Charlie dropped his coat to the ground, keeping his eyes glued to the screen. "Police showed up hear at midnight after receiving a call from Mr. Dawson's son, Walt, who over heard the struggle and called for help. The attacker was gone before the officers arrived. Mr. Dawson is now at a local hospital and doctors say he is making a clean recovery, as with the other two victims, and should be out with in a day." The reporter continued.

Charlie could barely believe what he was hearing. His hands griped the back of the couch as he leaned forward, listening closely, hanging on the reporters every word.

"Busted" out of no where, a pair of arms slid around his waist. Charlie straighten up, startled, and looked over his shoulder, realizing he'd been caught. "Hey' He choked, not knowing what else to say. "What? You weren't going to say good buy before you left?" Mya, the women who'd taken him home last night, questioned, sliding her arms around his neck as he turned to face her.

"I didn't want to wake you" He replied, sounding a little nervous. "Aw, how considerate" He muttered sarcastically, and leaned up to kiss him. After a moment, they're lips parted and she let her arms drop from around his neck. "Well, get your coat. Its almost noon, my husbands gonna be home for lunch" She explained casually, pinching him on the ass before she walked around the couch and headed towards the kitchen.

"I didn't know you were married" Charlie noted, slightly offended. "Must have slipped my mind" She replied from the kitchen in a sarcastic tone. Charlie frowned and knelt down to pick up his coat. With an offended look, he pulled it on and headed towards the door. Just as his hand meet the knob he felt her tug at the belt loop on the back of his pants.

"Hey, aren't you gonna say good bye?" She questioned, pressing him back against the door. Charlie stared at her blankly for a moment as he searched for the knob. "I don't think you husband would approve" Charlie explained with a smirk, and headed out the door.

He headed down the hall and out onto the street, witch was technically where he lived at the time. It was a little windy out, so he shoved his hands in his pockets and wondered down to the board walk to meet up with Tommy.

Last night had been a waist of time. Sure, it had gotten him a bed and a badge as a home wrecker, but that was about it. No food, no shower, no clean cloths. If he was gonna keep this up, he was gonna have to find someone who's home was a little more welcoming.

He didn't want to keep this up. He wanted to quit relying on Tommy and get a real home. He wanted to see Claire. The information he'd overheard on the news didn't help much. Three victims, and he only knew about one.

What if Claire was one of them? The thought alone made him sick. This was something he'd have to look into. After all, these were his friends. At least, they used to be.

He made it to the board walk and stopped at the wooden rail to look out at the beach. It was still pretty early, so not a lot of people were out and about. This also may have something to do with the gray color of the sky. Charlie leaned on the rail and watched the waves roll in. It reminded him of the beach on the island. Although that one was much cleaner, much more pleasant.

Thinking about the beach made him think of Claire. After all, the two of them and Aaron practically lived there. It was like they'd made they're own little suburbia. Sometimes he wondered rather they all would have been better off living on the island.

He'd been so lost in his thoughts that when he noticed Claire, holding Aaron on her hip as she walked along the sand, he thought he might have been hallucinating. But they were really there, along with Jack, who walked beside her, plus Jin and Sun close behind.

He watched them for a moment, trying to decide rather or not to go down. After all, he wasn't exactly presentable, wearing the only pair of cloths he owned and neither him or his clothes had been washed in a few days. With a sigh, he let his arms fall from the rail and turned to walk away, carelessly bumping into a young women who had been standing close by.

"Whoa, sorry" He apologized, taking a step back as he looked up in surprise. "No, no. My fault. Its what I get for standing so close to people" The young women laughed in reply. She was a few inches taller then him, but very petite. "Well, I'm sure my spacing out had something to do with it" Charlie replied, willing to take some of the blame.

The girl laughed nervously. "Sorry, its just...you look really familiar" she explained, looking a little embarrassed. "I do?" Charlie questioned in surprise. He doubted that this girl was a drive shaft fan. He hadn't run into one in a long time. But how else would she know him?

"Have you watched the news any time in the past month?" He questioned with a hint of sarcasm. "Maybe once or twice" The girl replied with a laugh. "Well, I was on flight 180, so if you recognize me, its probably something to do with that" He explained with a mildly embarrassed smile.

"Are you serious?" She questioned, in disbelief. "Fraid so" He replied with a shrug. "Wow. That must have been one hell of an experience" She noted, sarcastically. "Yeah, you could say that" He replied with a nod. For a while, the two laughed awkwardly, not really knowing what to say.

"Well, I'm headed to that little bar on 9th street. If you want, you can tag along and tell me just how interesting experience it was" She suggested after a moment, a seductive smile across her face. The advance took Charlie by surprise, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"Sure. That would be great" He replied after a short moment of consideration. "Great" She confirmed with a grin, and turned on her heels. "Oh, by the way, my names Nellie" She explained, turning back around quickly. "Charlie" He replied with a grin. "Nice to meet you, Charlie" She noted with a laugh, and turned around once again. Charlie followed.

He didn't know who this girl was, or why she was so interested in him, but none of that mattered. This was a chance for free food, and if he was lucky, a bed and maybe even a shower if she wasn't married and rushing him out by noon. Things seemed to be looking up, but as he followed, he couldn't help but look back at the beach where Claire sat along with the rest of those familiar faces from his past.

_There you go again_, Charlie, he thought to himself. _Always looking back_. With that thought in mind, he turned around and faced Nellie, his temporary savior, and let her lead the way.

end for now

Ok, guys, heres the long chapter I promised! I know, its not 100 pages or anything, but I think its pretty good sized. Sorry It took so long to put up, but I've been super busy! hope you enjoy, peace!


	8. Chapter 8

Lostlorenzo: Hey! Lost last week was so good, but so infuriating! I am so pissed off at Locke right now. And Claire, but at least she had a decent reason to be acting the way she was. Poor Charlie, eveyone was treating him like shit. I felt so bad for him, I almost cried. But any way, back to the story. This next chapter is pretty long, so I hope you enjoy!

Charlie'sHoodie: Hey, good to hear from you again! Glad your enjoying the story so far, I hope you contenuie to do so. Oh, and thanks for all the reveiws!

Summersrage: Hey, thanks for the reveiw. Hope you like the next chapter!

One week later...

It was bright out, very early. Charlie finished pulling his plain white T-shirt over his head and grabbed his coat off the bed post. Once he located his dusty pair of checkerboard vans and slipped them on, he carefully opened the door, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the women who's apartment he was sneaking out of was still asleep.

He lightly closed the door behind him and crept out into the living room, where he noticed the TV was on. She must have woken up sometime last night while he was asleep, he noted as he paused to stare at the screen. It had been a long time since he'd actually watched tv, the news especially.

He decided it wasn't worth the risk of her catching him before he left, and started to head for the front door when he heard a familiar name being mentioned by the news caster on screen. He stopped once again to listen.

"This was the third attack that has been placed on one of the survivors of Flight 815 in the past week. Police are working on investigations after Michael Dawson was found in his apartment this morning" The reporter explained, standing in front of the apartment she was speaking of.

In shock, Charlie dropped his coat to the ground, keeping his eyes glued to the screen. "Police showed up hear at midnight after receiving a call from Mr. Dawson's son, Walt, who over heard the struggle and called for help. The attacker was gone before the officers arrived. Mr. Dawson is now at a local hospital and doctors say he is making a clean recovery, as with the other two victims, and should be out with in a day." The reporter continued.

Charlie could barely believe what he was hearing. His hands griped the back of the couch as he leaned forward, listening closely, hanging on the reporters every word.

"Busted" out of no where, a pair of arms slid around his waist. Charlie straighten up, startled, and looked over his shoulder, realizing he'd been caught. "Hey' He choked, not knowing what else to say. "What? You weren't going to say good buy before you left?" Mya, the women who'd taken him home last night, questioned, sliding her arms around his neck as he turned to face her.

"I didn't want to wake you" He replied, sounding a little nervous. "Aw, how considerate" He muttered sarcastically, and leaned up to kiss him. After a moment, they're lips parted and she let her arms drop from around his neck. "Well, get your coat. Its almost noon, my husbands gonna be home for lunch" She explained casually, pinching him on the ass before she walked around the couch and headed towards the kitchen.

"I didn't know you were married" Charlie noted, slightly offended. "Must have slipped my mind" She replied from the kitchen in a sarcastic tone. Charlie frowned and knelt down to pick up his coat. With an offended look, he pulled it on and headed towards the door. Just as his hand meet the knob he felt her tug at the belt loop on the back of his pants.

"Hey, aren't you gonna say good bye?" She questioned, pressing him back against the door. Charlie stared at her blankly for a moment as he searched for the knob. "I don't think you husband would approve" Charlie explained with a smirk, and headed out the door.

He headed down the hall and out onto the street, witch was technically where he lived at the time. It was a little windy out, so he shoved his hands in his pockets and wondered down to the board walk to meet up with Tommy.

Last night had been a waist of time. Sure, it had gotten him a bed and a badge as a home wrecker, but that was about it. No food, no shower, no clean cloths. If he was gonna keep this up, he was gonna have to find someone who's home was a little more welcoming.

He didn't want to keep this up. He wanted to quit relying on Tommy and get a real home. He wanted to see Claire. The information he'd overheard on the news didn't help much. Three victims, and he only knew about one.

What if Claire was one of them? The thought alone made him sick. This was something he'd have to look into. After all, these were his friends. At least, they used to be.

He made it to the board walk and stopped at the wooden rail to look out at the beach. It was still pretty early, so not a lot of people were out and about. This also may have something to do with the gray color of the sky. Charlie leaned on the rail and watched the waves roll in. It reminded him of the beach on the island. Although that one was much cleaner, much more pleasant.

Thinking about the beach made him think of Claire. After all, the two of them and Aaron practically lived there. It was like they'd made they're own little suburbia. Sometimes he wondered rather they all would have been better off living on the island.

He'd been so lost in his thoughts that when he noticed Claire, holding Aaron on her hip as she walked along the sand, he thought he might have been hallucinating. But they were really there, along with Jack, who walked beside her, plus Jin and Sun close behind.

He watched them for a moment, trying to decide rather or not to go down. After all, he wasn't exactly presentable, wearing the only pair of cloths he owned and neither him or his clothes had been washed in a few days. With a sigh, he let his arms fall from the rail and turned to walk away, carelessly bumping into a young women who had been standing close by.

"Whoa, sorry" He apologized, taking a step back as he looked up in surprise. "No, no. My fault. Its what I get for standing so close to people" The young women laughed in reply. She was a few inches taller then him, but very petite. "Well, I'm sure my spacing out had something to do with it" Charlie replied, willing to take some of the blame.

The girl laughed nervously. "Sorry, its just...you look really familiar" she explained, looking a little embarrassed. "I do?" Charlie questioned in surprise. He doubted that this girl was a drive shaft fan. He hadn't run into one in a long time. But how else would she know him?

"Have you watched the news any time in the past month?" He questioned with a hint of sarcasm. "Maybe once or twice" The girl replied with a laugh. "Well, I was on flight 180, so if you recognize me, its probably something to do with that" He explained with a mildly embarrassed smile.

"Are you serious?" She questioned, in disbelief. "Fraid so" He replied with a shrug. "Wow. That must have been one hell of an experience" She noted, sarcastically. "Yeah, you could say that" He replied with a nod. For a while, the two laughed awkwardly, not really knowing what to say.

"Well, I'm headed to that little bar on 9th street. If you want, you can tag along and tell me just how interesting experience it was" She suggested after a moment, a seductive smile across her face. The advance took Charlie by surprise, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"Sure. That would be great" He replied after a short moment of consideration. "Great" She confirmed with a grin, and turned on her heels. "Oh, by the way, my names Nellie" She explained, turning back around quickly. "Charlie" He replied with a grin. "Nice to meet you, Charlie" She noted with a laugh, and turned around once again. Charlie followed.

He didn't know who this girl was, or why she was so interested in him, but none of that mattered. This was a chance for free food, and if he was lucky, a bed and maybe even a shower if she wasn't married and rushing him out by noon. Things seemed to be looking up, but as he followed, he couldn't help but look back at the beach where Claire sat along with the rest of those familiar faces from his past.

_There you go again_, Charlie, he thought to himself. _Always looking back_. With that thought in mind, he turned around and faced Nellie, his temporary savior, and let her lead the way.

Lostlorenzo: I know what you mean, I've been getting a little up set with Claire. I think the fact that she shunned him was a little rash, because it was pretty obvious that he wasn't using. I mean, the statue hadn't been opened or anything. But then again, after what happened with Thomas, you can't really blame her for overreacting. I'm pretty sure that what ever Charlie's predicting about Aaron is true, witch hopefully means that after he comes to the rescue (again), they will make up. lol. A Charlie and Claire kiss would be great, but It probably won't be them. Oh well. No matter what, we get to see Charlie shirtless and that, in itself, is worth getting excited about :D any way, back to the story. Sawyer was one of the three that were attacked, you'll find out a lot more details in this chapter. Well, thanks for the proper review, hope to hear more from you soon!

Summers rage: Hey, glad your enjoying the story. I'll try to keep it interesting!

CharliesHoodie: Thank you for all the reviews! I'm glad to hear from you and very pleased that you like the story. Its getting a lot more intense soon, so you should definitely keep reading.

Same day...

"Mum, were home" Claire called, kicking the door shut behind her. Aaron was about to doze off, and she wanted to hurry and get him up to bed before something upset him. After a lack of response from her mother, Claire headed upstairs and into her room.

She laid Aaron down in his crib and tucked him in. After spending all day at the beach, it was no wonder he was tired. In fact, Claire felt pretty exhausted herself. But it wasn't the excitement of being back on the beach that was making her tired, it was the emotion of knowing that three of your friends were currently in a hospital after being attacked, and no one knew who was next.

Ever since Hurly's attack, Claire had been worried sick. She lived day to day in constant fear that she, or even worse, Aaron, would be attacked. She felt like she was back on the beach. Back on the island. Back where no one was safe. This was supposed to be civilization. The name of the street she lived on was "Sivil" for fucks sake. So why, why didn't she feel safe?

Once Aaron was asleep, Claire wondered over to her bed and laid down. She snatched the remote of the end table and turned on the TV, keeping the volume low. She stared for a moment at the screen where a female reporter stood, once again going over the details of the attacks.

At the bottom of the screen, she could see the faces of Sawyer, Hurly and Michele, all to familiar. Nothing like the way they looked now, laying motionless in their hospital beds. Not because they were dead or unconscious, but because they were in shock. What ever happened to them hadn't just broke them physically, it had broken their minds.

None of them spoke about the attacks. None of them would say a word. The detectives were all at a loss for conclusions. All we knew was that someone was attacking them, the survivors.

Claire turned the TV back off, rolled over, and buried her face into the pillow. She let all the stress, all sadness, all the fear run out of her and into her pillow in soft, wet streaks. After sobbing for a good ten minutes, Claire finally managed to cry herself to sleep.

After a while, images began to form in her mind. Images of her room. Everything in its place.

She sat up and looked around, a dreamy daze still lingering with her. Slowly, the sound dawned upon her. The sound of crying. She knew it was Aaron right away, and gradually climbed out of bed. Sleepily, she wondered over to the crib and peered over the edge, startled to find it empty.

"Aaron?" She called, as if he could answer. But her only response was the continuous cries, witch were now clearly coming from outside her room. Claire walked to the door and stepped out into the hall. Just as she made it out, she saw the shadow of a person holding a bundle in its arms. Both the silhouette and the cries moved swiftly down the stair case, disappearing from her view in an instant.

"Aaron!" She called once again, and quickly ran down the hall, her bare feet pounding against the hardwood floors as she raced to the stairs. She reached the top just in time to see the figure slip out the front door, not even bothering to close it afterwards. Claire rushed down the stairs, stumbling most of the way. Once she reached the floor, she speed out the door, looking from side to side in order to locate the figure.

She could still hear the cries, and they seemed to be coming from the right side of the street, so she ran that way. She could see the figure ducking behind corners here and there, leaving its shadow behind just long enough for her to spot it and chance after. And all the while, over Aaron's harsh cries, she could hear whispering.

The figure lead her far down the street and into the woods that sat just outside their neighborhood. It wasn't very big, since she lived just outside the city, but it was still full of places to hide.

As soon as she stepped off the gravel of the street and onto the floor bed of the forest, the sun behind her seemed to disappear. Once was once a sunny, bright, suburban street went completely dark behind her, and she was left to find her way through the trees with little light to guide her. All she had to fallow was the sound of Aaron's cries.

She ran through the woods, that seemed to be growing warmer and warmer as she went, ignoring the pain from running over twigs and leafs in her bare feet. The lack of breath, the cramp in her side, the pain in her muscles, none of that mattered. She was running on pure maternal instinct, and she was goinging to let nothing, nothing hurt that baby.

It seemed like she had been following the figure for hours when she finally spotted a light through the trees. It was bright, to bright to see what was creating it. But what ever it was, the figure was moving towards it, and so did she. It wasn't until Claire had passed through the trees that she realized where the light was coming from: The beach.

At first, she couldn't believe what she was seeing, but she couldn't gape in disbelief for long. She spotted Aaron, warped in his blanket, floating on a piece off wood out in the waves. She didn't take time to react. She simply jolted forward, running full speed across the sand and into the waves until she reached the screaming bundle and cradled him in her arms.

"Shh" She coed, holding him against her chest in an attempt to comfort him. She was so caught up in her attempt to calm the screaming child that she was not aware of the figure approaching until she'd been hit over the head. She fell forward into the waves, loosing hold of Aaron on her way down.

She tossed beneath the waves, trying to find her way to the surface, but the figure held her down. No matter how hard she struggled, it wouldn't let go. She was losing breath fast. She could feel herself getting light headed. Slowly, the movements of her limbs began to weaken, and she didn't have the strength to struggle back. She was slipping away.

It wasn't until she was almost completely gone that she woke up. Her mother, who had been trying to shake her awake, sat back and stared at her in concern. Claire coughed and gasped for breath. She was shaking all over and covered in a clod sweat. She could hear Aaron crying, and quickly looked over into his crib. He was there, red and screaming, but he was there. She gave a sigh of relief.

"Claire, hun, are you all right?" Abby questioned in concern, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Claire was still stuck in a dreamy state, and was having some trouble pulling herself out. It felt so real. Tears rolled down her cheeks, that had gone pale with fear. Without a word, Claire hopped out of bed and walked over to Aaron's crib, scooping him up and holding him tight against her chest.

"Claire, what's going on?" Abby insisted in a quiet tone, trying to calm her down. "I had a bad dream" Claire explained in a shaky voice, looking at her mother over her shoulder. "Oh" Abby nodded, understanding. "Do you want to talk about it?" She questioned, with a worried look.

Claire shook her head the way a shy five year old would, and continued to rock the baby in her arms. She seemed distant, as if she were in a daze. Something in her dream was still haunting her. Abby was curious to know what, but unfortunately, they had more important things to focus on.

"Claire, dear, why don't you come sit down?" Abby suggested, tapping the side of the bed. Claire peered at her over her shoulder for a moment, then nodded and walked over to the bed. She settled down onto the mattress, holding a still-crying Aaron on her lap. She stared at Abby, waiting for her to speak.

Abby opened her mouth once or twice, but no words came out. What ever she was trying to say, wasn't easy to spit out. She sighed and turned on the bed, finding the remote on the floor and turning the TV on. "Here, watch this. It will explain" Abby said in a soft, serious tone. Her voice trembled as if she were going to cry, but she was trying to stay strong. This worried Claire.

She turned her attention away from her mom, and to the news report on TV, already somewhat prepared for what she was about to see. "Today, another attack on one of the survivors of flight 180 has accrued" The reporter explained, talking directly to the camera. "The victim was found in an ally outside an apartment, witch witnesses say he was staying for the night." The women continued in a cold monotone.

"Nellie Morgan, a the owner of the apartment the victim was staying in, told police that she'd gone to the bath room and taken a shower. When she came out, the he was inside. She claims the attacker was armed with a knife and wore no mask, but still, she could not identify his face.

She says that he and the victim struggled after the attacker had tried to stab him with some sort of needle, and the fight ended in the victim being knocked through a window and onto a fire escape, where he fell through the opening and down 6 flights before hitting the ground. Astonishingly, the victim was not killed" The reporter explained in a grim, shocking voice.

Claire watched this in shock, unable to react until the picture of the "victim" appeared at the bottom of the screen. Then her face went white, her jaw trembled, her arms clutched protectively around her baby as the reporter continued on about the victim, Charlie Pace.


End file.
